Volume 4 - The Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi

by Tanigawa Nagaru

  Kunikida was putting his Tupperware carefully on the spread out napkin and examining the contents, and he returned a dumbfounded look at me. Moving his chopsticks like a crab with its claws, Kunikida spoke.

  “Symptoms of the cold spreading were already noticeable a week ago! It doesn’t look like the flu, but it might be better if it were the flu. Since there are specific remedies nowadays.”

  “A week ago?”

  I stopped cutting up my spinach-laced omelet, and asked again.

  I could not think of anyone spreading the cold germs the same time last week. Nobody had been absent, and nobody was coughing in lessons as far as I could remember. Everyone in Class 1-5 looked healthy, but could it be that the Devil of Ailment had been operating secretly outside my sight?

  “What? There were quite a few people absent. Didn’t you notice?”

  I didn’t at all. Was that for real?

  “Sure it is. It turned increasingly worse from the start of this week. Please don’t isolate the whole tenth grade though. Winter break would be chipped off otherwise, I bet.”

  Kunikida stuffed some more furikake rice into his mouth.

  “Taniguchi had also been green to the gills these days. His father’s principle was to cure ailment by vigor, and he could not take leave unless his temperature was over 40 degrees (Celsius). I hope that he will be doing something before the cold gets worse.”

  I stopped my chopsticks.

  “Kunikida. Sorry, but I thought Taniguchi started being almost dead today.”

  “Oh no, no way. He has been like that since the beginning of this week, hasn’t he? He took a break from yesterday’s physical education time.”

  I was becoming increasingly confused.

  Wait, Kunikida. What on earth are you talking about? As far as I can remember, in yesterday’s physical education lesson, Taniguchi took on a football rival match with vigor, as if he was on steroids. I could not be mistaken, as I was in the opposing team, and repeatedly slide-tackled him. I was not being resentful to Taniguchi’s getting a girlfriend, but if I had known what would happen today I would probably have thought twice before tackling him.

  “Are you sure? Really? That’s strange!”

  Kunikida tilted his head as he was picking out the carrots from the Kinpiragobou dish.

  “Did I see it wrong?”

  He said in an easy-going tone.

  “Hmm, well we’ll see when Taniguchi comes back.”

  What on earth has happened today? Taniguchi and Kunikida are talking as if they were behind thick fog, and even Haruhi is absent! Don’t tell me that this is an omen for happenings that trouble the whole human race except Haruhi. My usually nonexistent sixth sense began to sound sirens, and strange creeps suddenly ran up the back of my neck.

  I was correct.

  My gut feeling was not to be belittled. There was no doubt that it was an omen. What my gut feeling did not tell me was whom this would trouble. The whole human race except Haruhi… well, not exactly. Surprisingly as it seems, only one person noticed and was troubled by this turn of events. Except for this poor person, the entire human race was not at all troubled. It’s because there was no way they could perceive the beginning of this incident itself. There’s no way one could perceive something outside of one’s perception. From their shoes, the world had not changed at all.

  So who was the troubled one?

  The answer was apparent.

  Me!

  I stood dumbstruck within the confusion, and ended up being left behind by the world.

  Yes, I finally realized.

  The lunch break of Dec 18.

  The omen came in a physical form, and it opened the classroom door.

  Wow! A couple of girls seating at the classroom front near the door burst into shouts of joy. The shouts were apparently from recognizing the classmate who just entered. From the gaps within the loose group of sailor clothes, I caught a glimpse of that person at the center of attention.

  With a bag dangling in one hand, that person gave a smile to the approaching friends.

  “Yes, I’m all right now. I felt much better right after I took the injection at the hospital in the morning. Having nothing to do at home, I figured I would come back to school, even just for the afternoon lessons.”

  A gentle smile answered the question if the cold had been cured. Ending the short lively conversation, with semi-long hair swaying, that person gradually… walked — towards — us.

  “Oops, gotta go!”

  Kunikida bit on his chopsticks and got up. For me, it was as if my vocal cords’ voicing abilities had all been confiscated, or even as if I had forgotten to suck in oxygen through respiration. I merely stared at that person. The flow of time seemed infinite, but in fact, she had only walked a few steps. When the footsteps finally stopped, that person was standing right next to me.

  “What’s wrong?”

  While looking at me, she said hackneyed expressions in a mystified tone.

  “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost! Or is there something on my face?”

  Then she turned to Kunikida, who was trying to tidy up his Tupperware.

  “Oh, just let me hang my bag. Please continue with your lunch. I already ate before I came. During lunchtime, I will lend my seat to you.”

  Just as we were told, she hung her bag on the hook at the desk’s side, and turned her body gracefully towards the ring of waiting friends.

  “Wait.”

  I guess my voice must have turned shrill.

  “Why are you here?”

  that person turned around, and stabbed me with a cool glance.

  “What do you mean? Is it strange that I am here? Or do you mean that it would be better if I were out with a cold for longer? What exactly do you mean by that?”

  “Not that. I don’t care if you have a cold or not. Not that…”

  “Kyon.”

  Kunikida poked my shoulders worriedly.

  “You are so strange today! Kyon has been saying strange things all day.”

  “Kunikida, don’t you think of anything when you see this person?”

  Unable to withstand it anymore, I stood up and pointed with my finger to that person, who was looking at me as if she witnessed an enigma.

  “You also know who this is, don’t you? This person shouldn’t even be here!”

  “…Kyon, how rude it is to forget your classmate’s face just because she took a brief leave! What do you mean by that I should not be here? We have always been in the same class, haven’t we?”

  No way could I forget! This attempted murderer! Even if I were to forget the face of a person who would like to kill me, half a year was a little too short.

  “I see.”

  that person spread a smile across her face, as if she had just thought of a super prank.

  “You took a nap after lunch didn’t you? Are you sure you are not having a bad dream? That should be it. Come on! Wake up!”

  “You think so?” With a broad smile on her lovable face, that person turned to Kunikida for agreement. She took the appearance of the girl whose image had been etched into my brain and could not be shrugged off.

  Flashbacks of various images. A classroom basked in sunset — shadows extending on the floor — walls without windows — distorted space — the wielding of a knife — a wisp of a smile — sand-like crystals that crumbled down…

  Annihilated after defeat in her battle with Nagato, she was the original class representative, who on the surface, had transferred to a school in Canada.

  Standing here was Asakura Ryouko.

  “You’ll be refreshed if you wash your face. Do you have a handkerchief with you? I can lend you mine.”

  Asakura put her hand into her skirt pocket, and I stopped her with my hand. Who would know if she took out more than her handkerchief?

  “No thanks. Rather, tell me what is happening. Everything. In particular, tell me why you are leaving your bag at Haruhi’s seat? This isn’t your seat, it’s Haruh
i’s.”

  “Haruhi?”

  Asakura knitted her eyebrows, and asked Kunikida.

  “Who is Haruhi? Is there someone with such a nickname?”

  Kunikida returned an answer that ended all hope.

  “Doesn’t ring a bell. Haruhi-san… How do you write it?”

  “Haruhi is Haruhi!”

  I mumbled with a dazzling sensation.

  “Have you all forgotten about Suzumiya Haruhi? How can you guys ever forget such a person?”

  “Suzumiya Haruhi… Well, Kyon.”

  With a comforting voice, Kunikida slowly divulged.

  “Such a person is not in our class! By the way, since the seating rearrangement earlier, this seat has already been Asakura-san’s. Are you confused with another class? Hmm, I have never heard of a Suzumiya before. Shouldn’t be in the tenth grade…”

  “I don’t have any idea either.”

  With the voice of a gentle cat, Asakura spoke as if urging me to receive treatment.

  “Kunikida-kun, can you take a look inside my desk? At the corner there should be a class name book.”

  I snatched away the notebook that Kunikida took out. I first opened the page of Class 1-5 of the First year, and ran my finger against the list of girl names.

  Saeki, Sakanaka, Suzuki, Seno…

  Not a single name was between Suzuki and Seno. The name of Suzumiya Haruhi had disappeared from the class name book. Who are you searching for? Such a girl does not even exist in the first place! The page screamed out loud, and I closed the name book and my eyes.

  “…Kunikida, I have a request.”

  “Yes?”

  “Pinch me on the cheek. I want to wake up.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He put his whole force in it. It was painful. But I did not wake up. Opening my eyes, I could still see Asakura standing there, curving her lips into an arc.

  What on earth had happened?

  I suddenly realized that we had become the center of attention in the class. The eyes were all focused on me, as if they saw an aging stray dog that suffered from canine distemper. Dammit! Why? I did not say anything wrong!

  “Dammit!”

  I asked two questions repeatedly to the people around me.

  Where is Suzumiya Haruhi?

  Didn't Asakura Ryouko transfer?

  “Don’t know.”

  “Nope, she didn’t.”

  The answers I got did not smell good at all. As if on cue, they affected me to the point of dizziness and nausea. I could only support my body by putting my hand on a nearby table. Some part of my sanity seemed to be shattered.

  Asakura put her hand on my wrist, and peered into me worriedly. The sweet aroma from her hair was like narcotics to me.

  “Seems like you should go to the nurse’s office. These kinds of things can happen when you are not feeling well. It must be so! Are you starting to develop a cold?”

  No way!

  I would like to scream out loud. I was not the strange one! This situation was strange itself!

  “Get your hands off me!”

  I pushed away Asakura’s hand, and ran for the classroom exit. The slight unpleasant feeling on my skin was seeping into my brain. The cold that broke out all of a sudden, the gap in conversation with Taniguchi, the disappearance of Haruhi’s name on the name book, the appearance of Asakura… What? Haruhi was gone? Nobody remembered her? That couldn’t be! Wasn’t this world revolving around that girl? Wasn’t that girl THE Blacklisted Character on the Universal Scale?

  On the verge of stumbling over, I pumped my legs hard, and stepped forth onto the hallway almost on all fours.

  The first thing that came to mind was Nagato’s face. She would definitely explain the situation to me. After all, it was Nagato Yuki, the silent but omnipotent alien android. Every single time she would sort things out. It is no exaggeration that I could survive thanks to Nagato.

  I have Nagato!

  And she would rescue a person like me from this stranded situation!

  Nagato’s class was in sight. Without needing to run, I arrived a few seconds later. Unable to think of anything, I opened the door and searched for the petite short-haired figure.

  Not there.

  But it was too soon to give up. In lunchtime she most probably was in the clubroom reading books. Even though she wasn’t in the classroom, it would be unwise to conclude that even Nagato had disappeared.

  The next guy in mind was Koizumi. The literature clubroom, located in the old wing, was far from here. The building was even beyond Asahina-san’s eleventh grade classroom. It would be faster to go to Class 1-9 one story below. Koizumi Itsuki, just be there! In no other situation would I want to see his all-smiley face even more.

  I ran at a dogtrot along the hallway, jumped down the stairs skipping three stair steps, and head towards Class 1-9 at the corner of the school building, while I was praying for that supernaturally powered dude to be there.

  Passed Class 1-7, passed Class 1-8, and there Class 1-9 would…

  “What? How come?”

  I stopped, finally starting to realize, and checked once again the plates that hung out from the wall. On the left of Class 1-8 was Class 1-7. On the right of Class 1-8 was…

  Only the staircase landing leading to the emergency stairs.

  Nothing else. No trace of anything.

  “Of all things who could imagine that…?”

  Not to mention no Koizumi.

  The entire class of 1-9 was gone.

  I really had my hands tied now.

  Who could have even imagined that the classroom that had existed yesterday would be gone today? It wasn’t as if just a single person had disappeared, the whole class had been erased, and the building itself shrunk. No matter how rushed the work was, it would be impossible to finish it all in just one night. Where had all the Class 1-9 people gone?

  The great shock had knocked loose my perception of time. God knew how long I had frozen on the spot there, before I regained consciousness by a slight jab in my back. In the cloud I heard the voice of a biology teacher, who looked like a marshmallow hugging some textbooks.

  “What are you doing here? Lessons have started! Return to your classroom!”

  I must have missed the chime signaling the end of the break. The hallway was already cleared of people, and echoed only the raised voice of a teacher from the Class 1-7 classroom.

  I staggeringly started to move. The time for ascertaining the signs was up. Things had already been set in motion. Those who should not have existed appeared, and those who should exist were gone. Exchanging Haruhi, Koizumi and all students in Class 1-9 for just Asakura was not up to scale!

  “What the hell?”

  If I wasn’t going nuts, the world had gone nuts.

  Who did that?

  Was it you, Haruhi?

  Thanks to all that, I heard absolutely nothing from the afternoon lessons. All voices and sounds slipped straight out of my mind, and all information failed to be implanted in my brain cells. Before I noticed, even homeroom had finished, and time had become after school.

  I was frightened, not so much by Asakura who was scribbling with her mechanical pencil behind me, but rather that both Haruhi and Koizumi were not at school. Even seeking reconfirmation from other people made me irritated beyond endurable limits. “Doesn’t ring a bell.” Every time I heard the line, I sank deeper into a bottomless swamp. I was not even recharged with enough energy to get my butt out of my seat.

  Taniguchi walked straight home with Kunikida, who felt a little anxious about me. Asakura left the classroom in merry laughter with a couple of girls. She took a look at me before she headed out, a look showing sincere concern for a depressed classmate, and my head felt dizzy from it. Fishy. All of them.

  Nearly dragged behind by some guys for cleanup duty, I finally managed to step out onto the hallway, with my bag in one hand.

  After all, this wasn’t where I belonged after class.

  With a heav
y heart I walked down the stairs and reached the first floor. Over there, a slit of light appeared in front of my eyes, and I dashed off towards it.

  “Asahina-san!”

  Could there be any merrier sight than that? Walking towards me from the other side was my goddess, my eye-stress relief medicine. What added joy to joy was the figure of Tsuruya-san beside the glamorous baby-faced beauty. The overwhelming joy busted my sensibility afar.

  — I probably should have been a little more prudent.

  I rushed towards the two seniors with amazing speed, and gripped hard the shoulder of Asahina-san, who widened her eyes at me.

  “He-eh!”

  The shock was apparent on her face, but my mouth just kept on speaking.

  “Haruhi is gone! Koizumi’s class has turned into the Drifting Classroom! I haven’t found Nagato yet, but Asakura is here, and the school’s become a strange place itself! You’re still my Asahina-san, right!?”

  Bang! It was the sound of Asahina-san’s bag and calligraphy set dropping onto the floor.

  “Eh? Ah, he… Eh. Well…But…”

  “So are you Asahina-san from the future?”

  “…The future? What do you mean? And, please… let go of me.”

  The pit of my stomach cringed. Asahina-san looked at me just like a domesticated impala that had seen a wild jaguar. Her eyes were clearly filled with fright, and that was what I feared most.

  Just as I was shocked stiff, I felt my arm twist upwards. Upsetting cracks sounded from my joints. Ouch!

  “Wait a sec, young lad!”

  Tsuruya-san grappled my arm using techniques from ancient martial arts.

  “Stop jumping on people! Look, my Mikuru is shaking from head to toe!”

  The voice was laughing, but the glance from her eyes was sharp as a sword. I looked at Asahina-san. She was definitely retreating with teary eyes.

  The voice was laughing, but the glance from her eyes was sharp as a sword. I looked at Asahina-san. She was definitely retreating with teary eyes.

  “Are you a first-year from the Mikuru Fan Club? There are procedures to everything, young lad. Rushing things doesn’t impress me.”

  The psychological chill I experienced so many times today ran down my spine.